Huntington, NY Solar Energy: Expedited Solar Permitting (2026)

L. No. 37-2011, requires the Department of Engineering Services to expedite all building permit applications for solar energy panels on residential and non-residential buildings and legal accessory structures on residentially-utilized property, and specifically mandates that applications for 'standard installations' on residential property be determined within 14 business days of filing a completed application. Section 157-14 sets the application fee for a standard residential installation at $60, tripling to three times that amount if installation began before the permit was applied for or issued. Section 157-15 defines a 'standard installation' as one that is not subject to architectural or Huntington Historic Preservation Commission review, is proposed for a roof with a single layer of covering, is flush-mounted parallel to the roof and no more than six inches above its surface, keeps an 18-inch clearing at the roof ridge, adds no more than five pounds per square foot of gravity roof load for photovoltaic systems or six pounds for solar hot water systems, uses a participating NY-Sun installer, and uses PV panels certified to UL 1703 and inverters tested to UL 1741.

Section 157-16 requires a sign or decal on the utility meter and any AC disconnect switch before a certificate of completion issues, flagging the presence of an operating solar co-generation system for utility workers and first responders. The program was modeled on the Long Island Unified Solar Permitting Initiative developed by the Suffolk County and Nassau County Planning Commissions and the Long Island Power Authority.